SOUTH KOREA
Account surplus falls
The nation’s current account surplus fell for the second straight month last month, but exports increased and the central bank yesterday forecast a record surplus by the end of the year. The current account surplus stood at US$6.77 billion last month, the Bank of Korea said, down from US$7.24 billion in June and a record US$8.64 billion in May. Exports rose 3.8 percent on-year to US$48.39 billion and imports gained 3.5 percent to US$42.71 billion last month, resulting in a US$5.68 billion trade surplus. For the first seven months of the year, the current-account surplus totalled US$36.55 billion and the central bank said it expected a total surplus this year of US$53 billion, exceeding last year’s record of US$43.14 billion.
AUTOMAKERS
Toyota seeks to expand
Toyota said on Wednesday that it plans a new push to boost its market share in Latin America, saying it underperforms in Brazil and Mexico, the region’s largest economies. Mark Hogan, former president of Magna International and former General Motors executive, who became the first American to serve on Toyota’s board of directors on June 1, told reporters that Toyota needs to expand its footprint in the two countries. He said the company in addition needs more capacity in Mexico, where its market share is also about 5 percent.
BRAZIL
Interest rate raised
The Central Bank on Wednesday raised its key interest rate by half a percentage point to nine percent in a bid to curb surging inflation, it said. The bank’s monetary policy committee said the move “will help set inflation on the decline and ensure that trend continues into next year.” It was the fourth consecutive increase this year as the real has depreciated against the dollar in a volatile market roiled by expectations of tighter US monetary policy. Last month, 12-month inflation reached 6.27 percent, below but very close to the upper limit of the government target of 6.5 percent.
RETAIL
Carrefour posts large profit
French big box store Carrefour posted a significant profit in the first half of the year, hailing it as a sign that its turnaround plan is beginning to bear fruit. Europe’s largest retailer by sales said yesterday that its net income rose to 902 million euros (US$1.2 billion). However, much of that boost — about 380 million euros — was from operations the company is discontinuing, raising questions about whether the company can stay profitable. Still, the results were an improvement on last year, when Carrefour reported a loss of 31 million euros in the first half. The company said that excluding asset sales and other elements not counted in this year’s reporting, its net profit last year would have been 3 million euros.
GAMING
Wii U system price to be cut
Nintendo Co announced on Wednesday that it is cutting the price of its Wii U video-game system as it braces for the fall release of competing consoles from Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo will reduce the price of the Wii U deluxe set from US$349.99 to US$299.99, effective on Sept. 20. The company will also release a Wii U bundle featuring The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, a remake of the 2003 game, that will also be available from Sept. 20 for US$299.99.
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
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